Kinshasa was a village on the south bank of the Congo when Stanley passed through in 1877. He returned in 1881 and established Leopoldville on the banks of contemporary Kintambo and Ngaliema. A post was opened upriver at Kinshasa in 1883. In 1923 Leopoldville was named the capital, comprising both Kinshasa and Leopoldville, established at Kalina (now Gombe), while "old" Leopoldville remained the capital of the Province. The Leopoldville-Kinshasa agglomeration was renamed Kinshasa in 1966.

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Sunday, December 4, 2011

﻿﻿﻿Another small hotel in Leopoldville in the 1950s (See Mar. 30, 2011) was the Hotel des Alliés, located a block south of the Memling (See Mar. 29, 2011)at the corner of Aves. Moulaert and Cambier (Tchad & Ebeya). The property of a M. Duchesne, the earliest reference I have found was in a tourist guidebook from 1948. What was far more interesting for a young boy in primary school was that Duchesne’s building also housed a toy store, Maison du Jouet, on the side facing Ave. Cambier. An advert in 1958 announced “Jeux-Jouets-Articles Pour Bébés” (curiously translated into English as “Children’s games and fruit and slot machines”). The shop was a treasure-trove of model cars and airplanes. Other shops included, Kermesse des Jouets on Ave Hanssens, down a side street from the Memling towards the Boulevard (where Buromeca - Canon's photocopy shop is today) and Maison du Tennis on Ave. du Port.